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United States Licensing Atlas

Oregon Massage Therapy Licensing Requirements

Oregon generally requires a massage therapist license from the Oregon State Board of Massage Therapists to practice massage for compensation. Applicants using the standard pathway complete 625 hours of certified classes, pass the Oregon jurisprudence examination and a Board-approved national written examination, and complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check. Statutory exemptions and alternate endorsement or credentialing pathways may apply.

Statewide requirements and local regulation are identified separately. This record is general information, not legal advice.

Oregon State Board of Massage Therapists

State licensing guide

Overview

State license required for compensated massage practice

Last verified 2026-08-02 · next review 2026-09-02

This record covers Oregon's statewide practitioner license and state massage-facility permit context. It does not determine whether a city, county, employer, insurer, or business regulator imposes separate requirements.

Before you act

Details worth confirming

Requirements can change, and some official materials differ on narrow details. Use the current official instructions when applying or renewing.

Current rule controls carryover

The current rule allows qualifying excess hours to carry only into the next renewal period and states no numeric cap; inconsistent older guidance is not promoted as controlling.

Regulatory authority

Oregon State Board of Massage Therapists

Visit the official authority

Local business, facility, zoning, and professional rules may apply in addition to statewide requirements. Confirm current requirements with the responsible authority before acting.

Entry requirements

Education, examination, and application

Credential
Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT)
Credential requirement
Oregon generally requires a state massage-therapist license for compensated massage practice. This research did not determine separate city or county practitioner requirements.
Minimum education
625 hours
Approved education
The standard pathway requires 625 hours of certified classes: at least 200 hours in anatomy and physiology, pathology, and kinesiology; at least 300 hours in massage theory and practical application, clinical practice, business development, communication and ethics, and sanitation; and 125 additional hours in listed subject areas. Official transcripts or certificates must document the education, and the Board's rules govern which schools and programs are accepted.
Examination
Applicants must pass the Oregon jurisprudence examination and a Board-approved national written examination. The Board currently lists the MBLEx, NCBTMB Therapeutic Massage or Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork examinations, and the Certification Examination for Structural Integration as approved written examinations; results must come directly from the examination provider.
MBLEx relationship
The MBLEx is one Board-approved way to satisfy Oregon's national written examination requirement; it is not the only examination the Board lists.
Application
Begin with the Board's online registration request, complete the online application, submit the required supporting documents, complete the Oregon jurisprudence examination and electronic fingerprinting, and pay the initial license fee after the Board confirms the other requirements are complete. Initial application materials must be completed within 12 months of the application date.
Application fees
Current Board charges are a $135 nonrefundable application-processing fee, a $47.25 fingerprint-processing fee, and an initial license fee of $135 when the first license period is under 12 months or $270 when it is over 12 months. The Board says the fingerprint vendor generally charges a separate $12.50 collection fee. A credentialing review carries an additional $250 fee when that pathway applies.
Background check or fingerprinting
Initial applicants must complete electronic fingerprinting for a state and national criminal background check. The Board also requires fingerprinting when a lapsed or inactive licensee applies for reactivation.
Reciprocity or endorsement
The Board may grant state endorsement after the Oregon jurisprudence examination when an applicant holds a valid license from a jurisdiction whose requirements meet or exceed Oregon's. Oregon also provides a health-endorsement pathway and a credentialing-review pathway for qualifying experienced applicants; the Board determines which pathway and documentation apply.
Additional requirements
Applicants must be at least 18, provide the required personal references, official education records, a current photograph and government-issued photo identification, current Basic Life Support certification, and direct examination results. The Board may require explanations and supporting records for specified licensing, criminal, substance-use, or health-history disclosures.

Renewal

Renewal and continuing education

Cycle
Licenses renew every two years. Expiration falls in the licensee's birth month in odd-numbered years for odd birth years and even-numbered years for even birth years.
Deadline model
The renewal application is due no later than the first day of the expiration month, although the license expires on the last day of that birth month. The online renewal portal opens 60 days before the renewal date.
Fees
The current active-license biennial renewal fee is $270. The inactive-license biennial renewal fee is $135.
Continuing education
Active licensees generally complete 25 continuing-education hours per renewal period. At least 8 hours are supervised and may be completed in person or through qualifying interactive distance learning; no more than 17 hours may be unsupervised. The requirement does not apply to the first renewal, and education completed during the first renewal period is submitted during the second renewal period.
Required subjects
Of the 25 hours, at least 8 must be supervised, including at least 4 supervised hours in professional ethics, boundaries, or communication; at least 1 hour must address cultural competency. Licensees must also complete the Oregon Pain Management Commission module once by their next required CE reporting and maintain a current Basic Life Support card.
Documentation
Renewal applicants attest to completing CE and may be selected for audit. The Board audits at least 10 percent of monthly renewals; selected licensees have 30 days to provide copies of CE certificates. Licensees must keep CE records for at least five years.
Carryover
Excess supervised hours, including excess supervised ethics, boundaries, or communication hours, may be carried only into the next renewal period. The current rule does not state a numeric carryover cap.
Late renewal
Late fees accrue at $25 per week, up to $100. A delinquent fee applies when the completed renewal application and all requirements are not received by the due date.
Inactive license
An inactive license does not authorize compensated massage practice in Oregon. Reactivation requires the current fee, electronic fingerprinting, current qualifying BLS evidence, and 25 CE hours for one inactive biennium or 50 CE hours when inactive for more than one biennium, with the supervised and ethics, boundaries, or communication components stated in rule.

Practice information

Scope, titles, and local requirements

Scope of practice
Oregon defines massage, massage therapy, and bodywork to include specified manual or mechanical pressure, friction, stroking, tapping, kneading, vibration, stretching, and related methods used on the human body. The regulated practice of massage is performance of that work for compensation and for purposes other than sexual contact.
Protected titles
A person may not practice or advertise massage without the required license or facility permit, and may not use the word 'massage' in a business name without the required license or permit, subject to statutory exemptions. Only a licensed massage therapist may use the title or abbreviation 'LMT'; active licensees must display the current license and include the license number in advertisements.
Restrictions
Oregon's statutory definition excludes high-velocity, short-amplitude manipulative thrusting procedures to spinal or extremity articulations. Practitioners must remain within the statutory massage scope and Board rules, and statutory exemptions should be reviewed before assuming a license requirement or exemption applies.
Municipal or local requirements
Oregon separately requires a state massage-facility permit in many settings; an individual massage therapist working from the therapist's home is excluded from that state facility-permit requirement. This record does not verify city or county business requirements.
Establishments and other regulated activities
Oregon separately requires a state massage-facility permit in many settings; an individual massage therapist working from the therapist's home is excluded from that state facility-permit requirement.
Practitioner notes
Use the Board's current licensing, renewal, fee, and rule pages before acting. Requirements can differ for endorsement, credentialing review, nonresident temporary practice, military-spouse temporary licensure, lapsed or inactive reactivation, and facility operation. Oregon law also includes licensed massage therapists among the public or private officials subject to child-abuse reporting requirements.

Authoritative sources

Official record evidence

Change history

Public record revisions

Future verified changes will be listed from this Git-backed record.